The Blogosphere Expands: Introducing the fantastic men of GainTirade

I am very happy to introduce an exciting new gainer podcast/comic/blog/recipe library/general multimedia awesomeness created by my two dear friends, Matt and Pete. It's called GainTirade and it's awesome.

Matt and Pete are a very cute, committed, whip smart and hilarious encourager/gainer couple and they have put a ton of effort in to start up a very fun, interesting, engaging podcast. It deals with the various ins and outs of having a relationship that has gaining as a central aspect, and generally existing within the gainer/encourager community.

It's funny, it's really well done, the podcast is updated every Sunday, and if you have a tumblr, you should most assuredly follow them there so you don't miss any of the adorable comics Matt makes. Give it a listen and a look over, if you're reading my blog, I am sure you'll enjoy it. And check out and follow their twitter too!

The Blogosphere Expands: Professor Fatology's Blog

I've been meaning to post a link to this one for a while, but, the holidays kind of got me a little sidetracked. If you haven't read it already, check out Professor Fatology (known to some as EagleDancer -check out one of his recipes he contributed to this blog here). He writes a very interesting blog touching on various aspects of gaining and encouraging, coming at it from the point of view of a very well informed and well read Psychologist. It might be a little dense for some, and it's not really spank bank material, but it is very thoughtfully written, and offers a lot of smart insights on the topic. Check it out!

The Blogosphere Expands: Beefyblimps

Just wanted to let you guys know about a cool new gainer-ish art blog called Beefyblimps. It's got some neat stuff, a fun style, and should def. get a few of you guys going. Enjoy!

Encouraging Cocktails Episode One

DangerCocktail: Let's start with introductions.

DangerCocktail: I run the DangerCocktail blog and represent the gainer end of this blogging duo. I don't remember how long my blog has been up, easy thing to find but lazy at the moment. We started around the same time, right sport?

Get A. Snack: I believe so. I'm Get A. Snack and I run the blog The Encourager, which I believe started in 2006.

DC: No way. Have we been blogging that long? That's crazy. In my head I was thinking six months.

DC: My internal clock is fired.

DC: And in addition to the blogging we've been friends for ages. We were talking about that last night.

Get A. Snack: Yeah, jeez, almost 10 years now, right?

DC: hee hee. yes.

DC: we were both 8 when we started. Soon we'll be able to drink. Legally.

G: Those were the days

DC: and speaking of those days...today's topic:

G: Topic: How and when did you first know you were into gaining and encouraging?

DC: Want me to barrel into it?

G: Sure.

DC: Alrighty. I was actually talking with a coworker today who asked when I first knew I was gay. The answer to that was simple: Sleeping Beauty, Prince Phillip.

DC: What's interesting about the gaining is that it predates Disney princes by a long shot. I have really early memories of looking at guys who were muscled and rounded in the middle and being fascinated.

G: For me, I did things that were kind of diagnostic of being into gaining & encouraging long before I realized it was either gay or sexual.

DC: Yea exactly. There were signposts along the way that you can look back on now and say; damn I was pushing gaining early.

G: Totally. I remember at first it wasn't even specific to bellied guys.

DC: Really? What was it?

G: It was just "big guys” -muscle, gut, whatever, and I was super interested is how one could become super muscled and huge; like, I was obsessed with the Hulk cartoons

DC: I thought his face was for radio. Always a sucker for a handsome face.

G: ha well, it was more Bruce Banner outgrowing his clothes that interested me. Bruce was cute.

DC: Interesting. I do seem to recall your interest in pants not buttoning. Did you ever do something utterly embarrassingly along those lines in your golden youth? Letting someone know?

G: As far as embarrassing. Hmmm...

G: I was obsessed with our gardener, who packed on prolly 30lbs in the time he worked for us, and was constantly busting out of his clothes

DC: Did you rape him when you were 12?

G: I don't remember anything too specific, but I'm sure I generally was weirdly ogling him and spending way too much time hanging around him. I think it would have been embarrassing if he had realized it was sexual, but, I think because it was such a not common interest, he never put two and two together.

DC: Was the gardener hot?

G: He was dreamy - 5'10'', Italian, dark and handsome. He went from a thick 180 to a starter bellied 210

G: and moaned about it all the time.

DC: Damn I love the Italians. I'm apparently really into dark and handsome.

G: Tight polos and khaki shorts. Sigh.

DC: Gah, I would have died. Were you dying?

G: Constantly

DC: He verbalized it?

G: He'd go and rub his belly

G: and be like "I weighed in yesterday, and somehow I've packed on another 10lbs -must be too much candy."

G: Hence me knowing exactly how much he gained

DC: I'd be baking cookies and making sandwiches way in advance of his arrival. Did you ever do anything like that, with your encourager proclivity?

DC: He was probably sweaty from the work too right? Haha my brain is working overdrive in visuals

G: I didn't learn to cook till I was older, but I always offered him anything if we had something tasty on hand. He got lots of glasses of lemonade.

G: He was really dreamy, especially to my horny, 12/13 year old closeted gayboy self

DC: My hardest gainer crush on a straight guy when I was closeted was in the 8th grade. One of my best friends, another Basque kid, had a brother in law who was HUGE.

DC: He had been a football jock and ballooned when he married my friend's sister. Basque food is all breads and cheeses so he hit it hard.

G: Oooh yum.

DC: His belly was so round, he was stabbed in a robbery and the knife didn't hit anything but fat.

G: Omg that's insane.

DC: I have distinct memories of waterskiing with them and being excited on the way to the lake, knowing he'd be shirtless. Plus he had one of those very round thick bellies. I tripped into him once. On accident.....

G: ha!

DC: I wonder how fat he is now. I don't really talk to that friend since high school

G: Facebook my friend, Facebook.

DC: I was a dictator with my foundling entries into gaining. Whenever I had a friend over for sleepovers, I would make sure we did chugging and eating contests.

DC: This is right at the beginning of the sixth grade, and I was lean and tall; thrilling with the swollen belly my friend and I would be sporting and showing off. I made up games where the punishments for failing were food. Horse, checkers, etc. Traditional boy stuff, gaining bent on it all.

G: I remember one thing I would do that was hugely dorky.

G: I remember, long before it was sexual to me like, maybe 6 or 7.

G: I would read the dictionary because I was a huge nerd.

DC: Haha yes that confirms it.

G: and I would use the thesaurus to look up synonyms to fat and related words

DC: gourmand?

G: and then read their definitions and examples. I’d get boners and have no idea what was going on cause I was 6.

DC: Did you ever stuff your shirts? Padding I guess

DC: I pulled a 1960 teenage girl move. I used toilet paper to build it up and shape it. Wrapped myself like a mummy sometimes.

DC: Horrifying moment. I'm with my friend going to the movies...

G: mm?

DC: I'm talking about how I put on five pounds and wow I'm huge. Probably 145 lbs. And toilet paper falls out of my shirt.

DC: <>

G: You walked around like that! Oh wow

DC: I know. I was ridiculous

G: Kids are weird though. I'm sure everyone forgot.

DC: Yea I always wonder who suspects.

G: Especially homosexicals.

DC: Based on my early days fumbling around

G: Yeah -I've spent a lot of time thinking about that. I did fumble a lot. Drooling over the gardener, watching The Santa Clause hundreds of times and that commercial for Yoshi's Island.

DC: God I saw that movie with friends and was full blown turned on and embarrassed as hell by it.

G: but I think most people just didn't put it together cause it wasn't something they were looking for. Even though it's just as sexual, looking at bellies is very different than looking at tits and dick.

DC: Yea plus guys talk about their bellies and weight all the time so there was some shade to hide in with that.

G: Yeah

DC: Ew breasts. Unless they're Joan's. Her's are brilliant.

G: I think breasts are hot on the right woman –Betty for example.

DC: Yea I guess. They're too soft for me.

G: Some bellies are too

DC: Women's nipples freak me out. Don't ask why.

G: Haha

DC: Did you know some women have hairy nipples? Gah! Can you imagine?

G: That's horrifying.

DC: *runs in circles of terror*

G: We have lasers for things like that.

DC: We have cliffs for things like that. You're out of here.

DC: Alright let's wrap this pony show up; we’re talking about breasts now.

DC: Final thoughts?

G: I actually wanted to kind of make a point.

DC: Oh hit it up.

DC: *puts on glasses*

G: I think that the unconventionally sexual focus of our sexuality made the whole gay thing all the more confusing for me. I had these feelings that were sexual, or pre-sexual but they weren't anything close to what I was told would be the feelings I had, gay or straight, with East Coast liberal parents.

DC: Yea that's a good point and I hadn't considered that. It was definitely more muddled with it showing up as the first impulses.

G: I think that confusion has sort of shaped a lot of people's confusion about how sexuality is blurred by this.

DC: Do you think other fetishes have that going on? Do shoe people think about sandals when they're eight years old?

G: Totally.

DC: Really? That's wild.

G: My first bf had a foot fetish, and he discussed that very issue with me.

DC: Okay now I want to have a major chat with you about that off record.

G: But people talk about foot fetishes, so, there's less confusion on that.

DC: Final thought from me is more of a question that you've brought up and that I've wondered for awhile. I have a minor in Psych and I used most of that to study serial killers. Has there been a study on why? Why does this show up, what are precursors or causal environments? I know we don't have any answer right now but I'm curious.

G: I have a double major in psych actually! I didn't know that about you. I've also spent a huge amount of time studying serial killers.

G: People generally feel that sexual maps are established when people are really young, like, 1-2 years old. I imagine there's some element of the just born gainer/encourager associating pleasure with having a full belly and rubbing it, something like that. But who knows really?

DC: Yea we need to sidechat about that current serial killer who was on the Dating Game as Bachelor #1.

G: Omg yes.

DC: Insanity.

G: I love talking to you.

DC: Haha we're both nerds so it works.

DC: Cute nerds

DC: Alright, we're wrapping this entry. Good night everyone.

G: Email us at GetASnack@gmail.com interesting topics for future episodes of Encouraging Cocktails.

Some interesting developments...

Dear Loyal Readers,

I'd like to let you know about two fun things related to my blog that I'm starting up with.

In addition to my updates here, I'm gonna be adding almost daily photo/video updates to The Encourager's Tumblr Extension. It's basically an online spankbank, but, it's much easier to quickly add videos and pictures to than here, so, it's fairly likely that I'll be updating it at worst a few times a week. More thought heavy/text heavy posts will still be posted here, along with pictures and vids that I find truly exceptional.

Check out The Encourager's Tumblr Extension

Another fun development is my teaming with the ever wonderful and devastatingly charming DangerCocktail to do a joint blogging effort, thus far called Encouraging Cocktails.

It should be super fun, as he's a fantastic writer and is always good for an excellent conversation. Hopefully we should get the first collaboration up in the next week or two, posted to both our blogs. If you've got an idea for a topic (think gainer/encourager related things that would be fun to have a conversation about) let me know at GetASnack@gmail.com. Encouraging Cocktails will be double posted here and on DangerCocktail's blog.

Gainers & Encouragers & Sex: Part I; A Response

This video, as it is from XTube, is obviously NSFW. But it's pretty friggen hot.

So, some of you may have read a thread over on BellyBuilders, and then a subsequent post on SFBayDude’s blog about gainers and encouragers and anal sex.

The thread had an accompanying poll asking how people viewed anal sex in terms of their own sexuality. Some of the people on the thread, including SFBayDude (the originator of the discussion, and someone I would consider a friend) drew the conclusion that the majority of gainers and encouragers didn’t feel like anal sex was important to them.

This really riled me, and similarly riled a couple of my pals that I was discussing it with.

Although I have the utmost respect for SFBayDude, and everyone who tried to add constructively to the thread on BellyBuilders, I feel that the conclusions drawn from the the poll and SFBayDude’s subsequent blogpost are both flawed and misleading.

The issue with all of the discussion starts on a flawed premise -the idea that the poll in the message board was either representative of the Gainer/Encourager community or correctly interpreted by the people responding. I don’t believe either of those assertions to be true.

First, the obvious limitations of a poll on the BellyBuilders message board are many and varied (even though they’re pretty unavoidable). The poll only had a relatively small sample size (as of the time of me writing this, 264 people has responded). As of my writing this, over 40,000 thousand accounts have been registered on BeefyFrat. This small sample is compounded by the bias that having it on the BellyBuilders message board exclusively creates. Without trying to put down BellyBuilders, I know plenty of people that simply avoid the BellyBuilders message board completely because they feel like it’s dominated by a handful of unpleasant people (a point highlighted by the unrelated and obnoxious rants that derailed the thoughtful discussion on the thread). Therefore, there might simply be a link between the subtype of gainers/encouragers who frequent BellyBuilders and the results, and not gainers and encouragers on the whole. The fact that you had to be signed up for an account with BellyBuilders to respond to the poll further intensifies this factor.

My biggest issue is with the wording of the poll. Although it’s obvious that SFBayDude put intelligent thought into designing his poll, there are some pretty big issues with the wording.

First, it left a big swath of confusing middle ground data that people then lumped into the anti anal sex category. The middle ground option is as follows:

“I'M INDIFFERENT: Sometimes I like it, sometimes not”

Now, even for people I know who really enjoy anal sex, basically anyone can resonate with the phrase “Sometimes I like it, sometimes not.” I personally really enjoy anal sex under the right circumstances, but have zero desire to engage in it unless it’s within the realm of my own limits. Although I see anal sex as an important part of an intimate relationship, and central part of a fulfilling sex life, under many circumstances, I would really not want to do it.

The second most anal sex positive option of the poll is:

“I LOVE IT: It's usually what gets me off”

The second most anal sex negative option of the poll is:

“I DISLIKE IT: I might do it for the right guy, but it's not my thing at all”

I feel these options confuse the variable of enjoying anal sex under the right circumstances with the idea of only liking anal sex if you want to have it all the time and never do anything else. They’re two very different things. Just cause you only would do it with “the right guy” doesn’t mean that it’s not your thing at all. It might likely mean that you think that anal sex is a personal, intimate practice that you want to share with someone you care about.

I commend SFBayDude for his attempt to not only examine the frequency, but also the feelings of gay men engaging in anal sex. I am very thankful for all of his efforts to better understand the sex lives of gainers and encouragers, but I don’t think saying things such as “almost 2/3 of all gainers are at best apathetic about, if not outright turned off by, anal sex” is helpful. While it was a nice first step into investigating the sex lives of gainers and encouragers, I don’t think we have enough data at all to make such sweeping generalizations. They’ll just serve to further divide an already relatively small group.

One could liken the attempt to prescribe a set of “normal” sexual wants onto gainers & encouragers as analogous to the hypocritical attempts of the gay community to define that “twinks” were what it was “normal” for a gay may to be attracted to... And we all know how well that worked out. lol

I know I sound like an enormous nerd typing all of this, and I know that I’m prolly taking all of this way too seriously but, it’s something I feel passionate about and this is my blog so ha! haha

Where SFBayDude and I do agree on is that you should have whatever kind of sex you want. No one can tell you what’s right for you, and no one should. It’s your life, it’s your body, and if you’re reading this blog, you’re already too in touch with your deepest, most inborn desires to not be having the kind of exactly the kind of sex you want to have.

Thanks for bearing with me and my rant. Gainers, Encouragers and Sex are all topics very close to my heart, and I obviously have strong feelings about this topic.

Coming Soon; Gainers & Encouragers & Sex Part II:The Fun Stuff - Tips & Tricks

Welcome to Guts & Glory blog

I would like to introduce all of my readers to a new, albeit NSFW gainer blog I recently found, Grow it, Show it: Guts & Glory. The pics adorning this post are all from the blog. Somehow I've been unaware of this gainer-oriented photo blog that has been floating around the interwebs for a while. There are loads of hot guys, and very well done, suggestive captions and post titles. As far as I know, there is no other blog like this gainer themed online spank bank that doesn't involve hunting over dozens of websites on your own.

Although it's not technically gainer/encourager themed, if you enjoy Guts & Glory, I suggest you also check out the similar (and also NSFW) Stocky Jocks.

With both sites, not ever guy that is posted is exactly to my tastes, but there is enough variation and enough high quality hot guys that you'll most likely find some eye candy you haven't seen elsewhere.

Goodbye to Roitbear's Blog :(

So, one of the fellow gainer blogs that I have most enjoyed over the past few years is Riotbear's blog. It's been eloquent, dynamic, hot, and genuinely interesting. He also has a fantastic, casually sexy YouTube. I was sad to read that he's shutting down the blog.


I get that his life is going in a different direction at the moment, and I respect that. Gaining is all about doing what feels good to you and making yourself happy.

But, haha, I am sure I am not the only one that would like to let Mr. Riotbear know that if at anytime he finds himself packing on a few pounds and has any desire at all to open up the blog again, the gainer & encourager community will be waiting here with open arms and a couple of pints of ice cream. :)

Until then Mr. Riotbear, I wish you the best.

I'll leave you guys with one of his low key, gainer eating vids.

Gaining Perspective, A New Blog

I wanted to write a quick post and let you guys know about a new blog on the scene, Gaining Perspective. It's smart, it's hip, it's not your typical spank-bank material gaining blog. Thoughtfully written by SFBayDude02, one of the most successful (he's put on something like 155lbs since he started college) and intelligent gainer/encourager types I have ever met, I am eagerly awaiting more posts. Check it out, and as always, get a snack ;)

XJock is back

Just wanted to let you guys know that XJock's blog is back, now hosted at http://xjock.net -I've written before about how hot and excellent his stuff is, so, I'm glad to point you guys to it's new home.

The Blogosphere expands again

Now, I'm sure a bunch of you have already seen his blog already, but in case you hadn't found it on your own, I wanted to point out ExJock's blog, Tease | Bully | Praise | Worship.

He's really hot, used to be really ripped, and now just eats what he wants, and totally gets off on it. Oh, and he's a huge exhibitionist. What more could you ask for? His blog is awesome cause it puts the sexuality of gaining front and center, while so many of the people in our community sort of pretend that it's not really all that sexual. The vids of him and his boyfriend fooling around with his belly, there's nothing else like it online today. The before and after pics are enough to many any encourager drool. And did I mention he's hot?


The exploration of how gaining is tied to other more "traditional" fetishes, such as S&M, and humiliation kind of stuff is another reason Tease | Bully | Praise | Worship is really a unique contribution to the blogosphere. Check it out, you won't be sorry.

The Blogoshpere grows more!

So, I know I haven't been updating regularly, but between moving twice, my laptop dying, and the general vagaries of life, I'm not actually feeling that apologetic about it. ;)

First, I want to take a moment (I know this is a little ridic, but I do feel sad about it) for the loss of The Oinquirer. Huge, huge amounts of effort went into that site, and there was nothing else like it on the internet. I'm sure that it was some sort of issue with the webmaster not wanting to shoulder the burden of such a big site on his own, but, it's a tragic loss. Thank you Mr. Oinquirer webmaster guy, whoever you are, for all your hard work. It was much appreciated.

We've also lost BellyGrow's blog, and Zmariottax's blog, Ravenous Haven. Both will be missed.

Second, I have some new blogs to point out. First, the blog of a dear friend of mine (you may know him as Bryan on BeefyFrat):

Trouble in the Mix



It's an excellent mix of gainer inspired fiction, general exploration of masculinity, and an intelligent viewpoint on life. Read it, even if you don't beat off to all of the posts haha it's very worth it. Be sure to check out his story series, Lucky -it's excellent.



Another very new blog is The Ballooning Jock. A former wrestler who wants to get big -he's straight, but, I'm sure you guys will find it stimulating, and I don't think he minds the attention ;) It's a great start, and I hope he keeps up the good work. Check it out:

The Ballooning Jock

And here is a vid he posted on youtube of him trying to fit into some old 32 inch jeans, now that he's hit 260(up from 189, when they fit):



Another nascent gainerblog is Fatten Me Up (run by flip07924 from Beefyfrat). A handsome guy, a growing belly, and a hint of interactivity? What more could you ask for:

Fatten Me Up

And a vid of Mr.Flip's growing belly trying to get into an old swimsuit for this summer:



Next we have StuffMeBloated's blog. It's off to a good start, just like this guy's belly. Check it out.

StuffMeBloated:The Gaining Story

And here's a vid of Mr.StuffMeBloated's belly that I sadly cannot embed.

Finally, last, but certainly not least is UrsoLogo's blog, In The Closet. A Chilaen psychologist, he offers not only an interesting and intelligent perspective on gaining, but also a very hot, growing gut. Check out his writing at:

In The Closet

And check out his belly in this vid -he's up to 207 from 187 a few months ago and man, I think he looks fantastic:



Well, that's it for now. I've got some stories in the mix, and am def. looking to feature some new gainers. I'm debating of doing a promising young gainers post, so, if you think you'd qualify, shoot me an email. Hope all you guys are finding time to eat even though it's summer. ;) I know it's hot, but it's worth it.

Nothing after the jump.

The Blogoshpere gets even fatter!

Just a quick post to tell you guys to check out these new gainer/encourager related blogs I've stumbled upon recently.

Belly Envy's Progress Blog
Taylor's Fattening Male Celeb Blog
A Gainer's Journal
Ciccionlan (This one's in Italian)
RiotBear

They will make you hungry. I've got a new story I'm working on so, keep an eye out for that, and if you can think of anything you want me to blog about (if you're really proud of your growth, if there's a gainer you are totally admiring), email me!

GetASnack@gmail.com

Nothing after the jump

Ryan Gosling -Closet gainer?

Before


After

I thought that you guys would all appreciate this. Apparently actor Ryan Gosling took it on himself to put on weight for a role he had for an upcoming movie, The Lovely Bones, but ended up getting too fat for the role! This reads like gainer fiction. Handsome, young heartrhob moviestar has to chunk up for a role but chunks up too much. Drool. One of my friends saw him wandering around Soho this past weekend and said he looked noticably big, like a lumberjack. Very sexy. Although this movie ended up not getting made with Mr.Gosling in the lead, check out Lars and The Real Girl. Apparently Gosling also gained for that.

Celebrity weight gain for a role is such a great idea for a story. I'd love to see something well written about it. A friend of mine pointed out an interview that George Clooney and Matt Damon gave after working together on Syriana that read like something out of a gainerfic. Damon told the interviewer how in order to help George gain weight for the role, he and Clooney would sit in his room and just gorge on pasta. Apparently Mr. Damon uninentionally put on a good 20-25lbs during the filming. Can you imagine being the roomservice boy in that hotel? Droooool. lol

One more quick update - a new gainer blog I wanted to mention. First, there's another blog to keep an eye on -check out newbie gainer A Growing Wolf. He's new to the gaining scene, but, I think this boy's got potential. Eat up boys, and shoot some encouragment to that skinny little wolf ;)

The blogosphere grows...

Hey boyos,

I know it's been a while, but, hey, my life is complicated. So many guys to feed, so little time. There have been two blogs that have poked up recently that I want to make you guys aware of -Ravenous Haven, a blog run by my friend, and the esteemed author of Feeding Roman (and many other excellent stories), Zmariottax. He's cute, he's smart, and he's growing. Check him out boys.

Secondly, but not less importantly, I wanted to point out A Growing Git. This blog, run by Stupid Git, is really actually excellently done. It's currently the gainer blog to beat in my opinion (although Ravenous Haven may give it a run for it's money). I don't actually know Mr. Git (read: say hi, I love your blog), but, his posts are fun, and, well, it doesn't hurt that he's very easy on the eyes.

Another link I've been meaning to post is to Adam & Andy. Run by James Asal, a cute muscleboy turned cute bellied ex-jock, it's just an adorable comic strip centered on two cute married guys living in my home state of Connecticut. James manages to capture the playfulness, sweetness, and love that I really hope I find some day... It's a great read, and I plan to do a post about the strip in more detail at some later date. But read it. Religiously. I do.

I also thought I'd point out my page on youtube. Although I only have one vid up (and it's a commercial I featured on the blog earlier, it's not of me), I still have a pretty decent collection of favorites and subscriptions. It's not as filtered as the blog (think of it as an archive rather than a refined sampling) but it might help guys out there find some hot stuff on youtube.

Ok, this encourager is beat. Hopefully I'll find the time to keep this blog updated, but, let's be honest, I prolly won't... Eat hard men.

Nothing after the jump.